Sweet Tarts
by AstroLatte
Summary: Rapunzel and Eugene's first Valentine's Day goes awry when Eugene forgets about the special day. With the clock quickly ticking, is there enough time to make amends before the love is gone?


**Sweet Tarts**

"Okay Eugene, you can stop pretending now," She smiled, finally turning on her heel to face him from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Hm?" his head titled to the side like a dog, his hands deep in his pockets as he stopped mid stride. "Pretending what?"

"That you forgot what today is," she rocked back and forth on her heels, her hands behind her back playfully.

"Uh…today?" he repeated dumbly, raising an eyebrow at her questionably.

"Yeah, today," she had stopped rocking and was now standing with her hands on her hips. "You know? _Today_?"

He paused, racking his brain for the answer to her question. Her thin eyebrow rose, and he knew he was in trouble. As her foot began to tap impatiently, he knew he was out of time.

"Okay, you got me," he jested, as he tried to figure out what the hell he had forgotten. "And here I wanted to surprise you!"

"I'm pretty hard to surprise," she smiled, her arms crossed over her chest smugly. "But I was starting to think you've forgotten what today was!"

"Pfft! Me? Forget? Never," he laughed overzealously as he lifted flowers from a nearby vase, hiding them behind his back as he made his way to her. "I mean…how could I forget such a…a special day like this one!"

"I would be pretty mad if you did!"

"Oh, I know you would," he stopped in front of her, giving her his best Flynn Rider grin as he took a shot in the dark and presented her with the flowers. "Happy Anniversary, Ra-"

He was smashed in the face with the empty vase before he could even finish his sentence.

One screaming match and two guards preying Rapunzel off his neck later, Eugene figured it was best if he left the castle for a bit.

Considering Rapunzel was ready to skin him alive at this point, giving the princess some space to cool off and remember how wonderful he was seemed like a pretty good idea. Also, he could use this time to remember what the hell today was and why it was so important to Rapunzel.

As he wandered around the kingdom aimlessly, he dully noted that the townspeople seemed especially happy. Also, a lot of them were out; it took Eugene a good half-hour to find an opened bench to relax upon.

To both his sides he saw couples kissing and being lovey-dovey, which made his stomach churn partly because PDA made him comfortable, but mostly because it reminded him that the love of his life currently wanted to kick his ass.

While he knew the anniversary guess was wrong, he figured it had to be something along that caliber to get Rapunzel that mad for forgetting.

Currently it was February, and he knew that it wasn't her birthday because that was in the summer and came equipped with a festival, and it wasn't Pascal's birthday because that was in the fall and it wasn't his birthday because that had already passed and she wouldn't have gotten so mad at him for forgetting his own birthday.

"Baugh," he groaned, throwing his head back and covering his face with his hands. "What the hell is today that's so freaking important?"

"Y'know, talking to yourself is the first sign of losing your mind."

Removing his hands and still looking up, he saw the unmistakable face of Big Nose and his pretty little girlfriend whose name Eugene could never remember. All he could remmeber about her was that she wasn't deaf of blind; for he had tested those senses the second he learned she as dating Big Nose. Also he noticed that due to the angle he was currently sitting, he could see right up Big Nose's nostrils. Bleck.

"Where's your girl today, Rider?"

"Mind your own business," he grumbled, sulking on the bench.

"She finally dump your no good ass?" Big Nose guessed, dropping down to sit on one side of Eugene as his girlfriend took the other.

"Be nice, Jeremiah." She scolded.

"Yeah, _Jeremiah_," Eugene smirked, turning to Big Nose. "Be nice."

"Shut up, _Eugene_."

Just as Eugene was about to punch Big Nose in the face, the thug's girlfriend took hold on his fist, reminding him of the situation at hand.

"Why isn't Rapunzel out with you today?"

"We…got into a bit of a fight."

"Uh oh," she grimaced. "You didn't forget what today is, did you?"

"Okay what the hell is today? Rapunzel's making a big deal about it like I should know what today is, but I can't think of anything!"

"How about taking a look around, idiot." Big Nose groaned, smacking his face with his hand at Eugene's denseness.

Sitting up straight, Eugene took in his surroundings and noticed again that there were a lot more people out and about than normally. The more he looked however he saw that there were a lot of couples out together.

He saw men buying women chocolates, flowers, and even some heart shaped balloons. He saw women holding onto men's hands, kissing them coyly and pulling them to shops and restaurants. So many hearts and candy, that it reminded Eugene of…

"Oh crap," his voice cracked as he helplessly slumped back into the bench. "It's Valentine's Day, isn't it?"

"Ding, ding," Big Nose's grinned. "You, my friend, just put yourself in the dog house."

"Shut up," he said panicked, turning to Big Nose and his Girlfriend. "What do I do? I can't go back empty-handed, she already thinks I'm a complete jerk for forgetting!"

"Y'know at this point, I'm pretty sure she _knows_ you're a complete jerk."

Eugene sent the thug a look that could melt ice as the Big Nose's girlfriend cleared her throat, reeling him back.

"As the only girl present, I feel that I'm qualified to point you in the right direction," she smiled, resting her head in her hand. "Remember, the day's not over yet. And you, Mr. Fitzherbert, need to woo her."

"Woo her?" he repeated, the phrase sounding weird even when he said it. "How the hell do I "woo" Rapunzel? She lived such a simple life until now that she's impressed with everything! She saw a fish the other day and completely lost her…oh my god, that's it!"

Watching Eugene jump to his feet, Big Nose looked up at him from the bench.

"What? You getting her a fish?"

"No, keeping it simple!"

The thug raised an eyebrow at him curiously but Eugene didn't have time to explain any further.

"Can't talk; gotta work," he managed before sprinting back to the castle. He had to remember to thank Big Nose's girlfriend for this, and while he was at it he needed to remember what Big Nose's girlfriend's name was so he could stop referring to her as Big Nose's girlfriend.

Later that night, Rapunzel sat in bed angrily, stroking Pascal as she vented.

"I can't believe he forgot," she pouted childishly. "And I gave him so many hints, too! Like, the heart candies in his pockets, the cards, and those extra long kisses before bed!"

Pascal nodded at every action except for the last one; he still wasn't completely comfortable with Rapunzel and Eugene sucking face just yet.

"Maybe…maybe he just doesn't care," she said sadly, as Pascal nuzzled her hand in a gesture of comfort.

She was ripped by her depressing thoughts when a tiny, round floating lantern flew insider her room from her opened bay window. Looking down at Pascal, the lizard shrugged as she jumped to her feet, dressing herself in her robe before leaning out the window to see Eugene's smiling face on the ledge below.

"Oh," she huffed, crossing her arms stubbornly. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"To apologize," he smiled guiltily. "Come down here, I wanna show you something."

"Why should I? You forgot that today was Valentine's Day; it's too late now."

"Actually, it's still Valentine's Day," he smirked, reaching into his vest to pull out a pocket watch. "It's barely 11, which means we have one more hour until the holiday's over, and I want to make it count."

"I don't know," she pouted, crossing her arms. She watched as Eugene's face twisted into a more than familiar expression. "Don't even try to smolder!"

"Then c'mon," he cleared his throat dramatically, holding one hand up towards her. "Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down…a bed sheet!"

"Fine," she laughed, rolling her eyes turning to use her bed sheet to climb down to his ledge. "But you're not forgiven; I just don't want you waking everyone up and getting me in trouble."

He helped her down, as she stepped onto the roof gracefully she saw a tiny picnic set waiting for her. A vase of flowers sat in the middle of the blanket, surrounded by various chocolates as well a tiny-lidded pot and bowls.

"I know it isn't much," he said, taking her hand and bringing her down to sit on the blanket. "But I made you Hazelnut Soup…I remember you saying it was your favorite."

"You made this?" she asked, motioning to the pot.

"Well, not entirely, I had to wake the chefs and beg them to make it," he admitted, "But I helped! I cut the vegetables and brought everything up here."

She had to admit, she was a bit impressed. He poured her a bowl, and she tasted a spoonful of warm soup.

"It's really good," she smiled. "I can tell the vegetables are nicely chopped."

"I'm sorry, Rapunzel," he sighed, looking up from her bowl of soup to her face, strands of short brown hair grazing her freckles gently. "I shouldn't have forgotten about Valentine's Day; I know it meant a lot to you, and I completely dropped the ball."

She took another spoonful of soup as he continued.

"It's just that, well, romantic stuff isn't really my forte."he admitted.

"It's okay," she said placing her bowl on the blanket and taking hold his hand. "I could be a little bit more patient with this, it's all still kind of new to me too."

He smiled and kissed her lips tenderly, blushing she pulled back with a smile.

"And I may have sort of overreacted when I found out you forgot."

"Yeah, the bump on my head from that vase can testify for that," he joked, as she leaned forward again to kiss his injury.

After the grievances were aired, she leaned against him; her head nestled in his chest as they watched the stars, Rapunzel sharing the information she gained through charting them and Eugene sharing each constellation's story. They were found the next morning in the same position, though fast asleep, their Hazelnut soup stone cold.


End file.
